Scott felt completely confused, but out of politeness, he still reached out to shake Tony Stark's hand.
"I…"
As he withdrew his hand, Scott looked even more uneasy.
He had no idea why Stark had shown up at Dr. Hank Pym's house.
"You got the letter I wrote you? That was actually the first time I've ever written a letter to a man!"
Tony had never written to someone of the same gender before.
Of course, if the Emperor would accept his letters and reply, he'd gladly discuss that incredible armor of his in detail.
If he could master that kind of technology, it would be a huge asset to him.
"Yes, I'm very sorry, Mr. Stark. I'll return the signal device as soon as possible. It's just that… I really need to use it right now!"
Scott didn't bother hiding it—he directly brought up the signal decoy device.
He couldn't stand waiting in anxiety any longer. It was eating away at him. Better to just admit it.
"Emp… I mean, Alan, don't tell me you didn't explain to Scott that yesterday's mission was a rookie test?"
Tony was clearly thrown off by how apologetic Scott sounded.
"Nope. And apparently, your letter didn't say that either?"
Alan smacked his forehead lightly.
That explained why Scott looked so freaked out and exhausted—he thought he was in serious trouble.
Tony Stark hadn't said a word about it in the letter. No wonder Scott was completely in the dark and mentally stressed.
"Rookie test…?"
The surprise hit Scott hard, but finally, he understood—
So that letter _was_ meant to welcome him. Tony had been sincere.
And yet, he only found out now. God knew how anxious and terrified he'd been the entire night.
Scott really didn't want to end up back in prison.
"Take a seat. We still have a plan to carry out, don't we?"
Tony shot a wink at Hank Pym.
It wasn't often that an old friend of his father's was willing to meet with him.
And as a former S.H.I.E.L.D. scientist, Hank Pym probably had a good grasp of what had gone on inside that organization.
"Listen, Stark. I still don't fully trust you.
As for the Pym Particles and the Ant-Man suit, I have every right to stop you from studying them."
Hank didn't hold back, issuing his warning to Stark right in front of Alan—
To stop him from trying to research those things in secret.
And with the Avengers now essentially working for S.H.I.E.L.D., Hank knew exactly who they were aligned with.
"Dr. Pym, I know you have serious issues with the Stark family,
But I give you my word—that research is yours. I won't touch it."
Tony turned to Alan, raised his right hand with three fingers together in a vow, and placed his left hand over his heart.
"I'm willing to make this vow in front of Alan as a witness.
I will _not_ lay a hand on the things Dr. Pym just mentioned."
Hank narrowed his eyes at Tony, still suspicious.
He clearly wasn't convinced.
"You're still a S.H.I.E.L.D. man."
"I only act according to my conscience. I don't blindly follow S.H.I.E.L.D."
Tony had long since abandoned blind loyalty to the organization.
Probably only Cap, Natasha, and a few others still believed in it.
But after the whole Hydra fiasco… maybe even they were starting to look at S.H.I.E.L.D. differently.
"For your sake, I hope that's true.
Alan will be the witness to all of this," said Dr. Hank Pym.
...
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